NATO to invite IP4 leaders to June summit

NATO has reportedly decided to invite its four Indo-Pacific partners, collectively dubbed the IP4 countries, to its summit in the Netherlands next month, Report informs via KBS World.

Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, reported on Wednesday that NATO plans to invite the leaders of the IP4 countries — South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand — to the summit, scheduled for June 24 and 25 in The Hague.

NHK said that as the NATO summit takes place after South Korea’s presidential election on June 3, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may meet with South Korea’s newly elected president at the summit.

US President Donald Trump is expected to attend the summit, raising the possibility of a meeting between the leaders of South Korea and the US.

Leaders of the Group of Seven(G7) countries are also set to hold a summit in Canada from June 15 to 17, a week before the NATO summit.

If South Korea is invited to the G7 summit, the country’s new president may have the opportunity to engage with foreign leaders at international gatherings just one week apart.